UConn dashes UH's dreams of unbeaten season

1of4EAST HARTFORD, CT - NOVEMBER 21: Quarterback Kyle Postma #3 of the Houston Cougars runs for a long gain as Julian Campenni #90 of the Connecticut Huskies attempts a tackle during the first quarter against the Connecticut Huskies at Rentschler Field on November 21, 2015 in East Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)Photo: Rich Schultz, Stringer

2of4Greg Ward Jr. trudges off the field after throwing an interception to end UH's final possession Saturday.Photo: Stew Milne, FRE

3of4EAST HARTFORD, CT - NOVEMBER 21: Josh Marriner #26 of the Connecticut Huskies is tackled by William Jackson III #3 of the Houston Cougars during the second quarter at Rentschler Field on November 21, 2015 in East Hartford, Connecticut. The Huskies defeated the Cougars 20-17. (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)Photo: Rich Schultz, Stringer

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - Running back Kenneth Farrow went down with a foot injury on the last play of the third quarter.

Quarterback Kyle Postma was knocked out of the game twice in the final minutes, the last to an apparent knee injury.

The next casualty: the University of Houston's unbeaten season.

The Cougars' offense never showed up Saturday, committing four turnovers in a 20-17 loss to Connecticut.

On its final two possessions, UH (10-1, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) was stopped on fourth down, and Greg Ward Jr., the Cougars' injured starting quarterback who sat most of the game, was intercepted with 55 seconds remaining.

As UH players walked to the tunnel leading to the locker room, a sea of blue and white among the crowd of 26,879 at Rentschler Field stormed the field.

"I didn't picture it like this," UH wide receiver Chance Allen said.

UH coach Tom Herman warned early in the week the No. 13 Cougars could be facing a trap game, especially coming off an emotional 20-point comeback over Memphis and UConn having two weeks to prepare, playing at home and needing a win to become bowl-eligible for the first time in five years.

Against a stout UConn defense that entered allowing just over 19 points a game, the Cougars were held to 318 yards total offense, almost 200 below their season average. The Cougars' only offensive touchdown came on a 38-yard catch by Allen early in the fourth quarter.

"It hurts," Herman said. "Losing always hurts. When you're moving along on a season like we were having, it makes losing probably sting that much more. There are a lot of tears in that locker room right now."

Even with the loss, UH can win the AAC West Division and play in the league's championship game by beating Navy at home Friday.

"Every single one of our goals is still in front of us," Herman said. "We only had one: compete for and win our conference championship."

UConn (6-3, 4-3 AAC) used a trick play midway through the fourth quarter to regain a 10-point lead. Wide receiver Garrett Anderson took a pitch from backup quarterback Tim Boyle and threw to a wide-open Noel Thomas for a 45-yard touchdown. Thomas also had a 4-yard touchdown on the game's opening drive.

Boyle entered the game midway through the first quarter when Bryant Shirreffs was forced to leave following a helmet-to-helmet hit from UH linebacker Elandon Roberts, who was ejected from the game.

Brandon Wilson gave the Cougars some life when he returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 20-17.

UH twice had a chance to tie or pull ahead in the final five minutes.

On the first, Postma completed a fourth-down pass to Demarcus Ayers for the first down. But after a review, the call was overturned.

The Cougars had the ball again with 1:42 remaining when Postma suffered a knee injury as he was throwing. Three plays later with the Cougars near midfield, UConn cornerback Jamar Summers intercepted Ward's pass - intended for Allen - at the Huskies' 29-yard line.

"You have to keep pushing in the fourth quarter," said Allen, who had six catches for a career-high 105 yards. "You can't put the game in the ref's hands."

Herman made the decision to start Postma with Ward not fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered against Memphis.

"He wasn't 100 percent or close to it," Herman said. "We felt like Kyle gave us a better chance to win than a Greg Ward at 70 percent or so."

The Cougars had five punts, fumbles on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter, and never got going in the running game. Farrow had 46 yards rushing before injuring his left foot on the final play of the third quarter. With UConn stacking the box, UH managed 3.3 yards per carry and had 11 runs that resulted in 1 yard or less.

Meanwhile, UH rarely attempted to go down field in the passing game with just two pass plays of 25 yards or more.

"Probably should have taken more as much as they were packing it inside," Herman said. "That's my fault."

Arkeel Newsome accounted for 114 of the Huskies' 156 rushing yards. He had 68 on the opening drive to setup a touchdown catch by Thomas, the first of two in the game.

UH couldn't catch a break on two plays: a fumble return for a touchdown by Tyus Bowser (on the play that injured Shirreffs) was called back and a 46-yard catch by Ayers to the UConn 5 was wiped out on a holding call.

"In this game, you make your own breaks," Herman said. "We had plenty of opportunities to overcome those negative plays, and we didn't."

Joseph Duarte has been a sports reporter for the Houston Chronicle since August 1996. He currently covers college athletics, focusing on the University of Houston. Previously, he wrote about the Houston Astros from 1998-2002, Houston Texans from 2002-05 and the Texas Longhorns from 2005-09. He came to the Houston Chronicle as part of an internship through the Sports Journalism Institute in 1995.